A Helping Hoof
by nmgh101
Summary: When Fluttershy finds an injured changeling at her door, she can't help but take care of him-even if it seems like a terrible idea. It couldve been easy, though, if it werent for the fact that their relationship so grew much more then just friends.
1. An Unexpected Visitor

[i]Thud thud thud thud thud thud![/i]

"Please, let me in! Please!"

Fluttershy's emerald green eyes shot open, startled awake. Somepony was at the door. She got out of her soft bed, even though she would've liked nothing more then to jump back into the warm, safe, soft covers and be back in the world of sleep. [i]Who could that be?[/i] she wondered. It didn't sound like and of her friends, or-in fact-anypony she knew. And why would they be outside? There was currently a huge downpour and anypony who got caught in the middle of it would be drenched.

[i]Boom![/i]

Her thoughts were interupted by the loud thunder which roared through the sky.

"Please! Help me!" the voice was frantic, pleading to be let into the home. Fluttershy rushed down the wooden stairs, towards the door. It was obvious whoever it was needed help. She yanked the entrance open, expecting to see a colt asking for help. When she meet eye to eye with the creature, a large gasp escaped her throat and she took an involuntary step back. The figure standing in front of her was drenched to the bone. Its front right leg was torn and bleeding, and its chest was bruised and battered. It's black face was tired, as if it hadn't slept in days. Its light blue eyes only showed worry, fear, and the puppy dog look of begging. It's moth-like wings were tucked at it's trembling sides.

[i]Changeling.[/i]

"Please, help me..." its dry and cracked voice was almost a whisper. For a moment they each just stood there, starring at each other as if time itself had stopped. The moment was broken by a large, powerful voice.

"Where are you, vermin?"

The changeling's eyes went wide as plates.

"Please..."

"Oh, alright, come in." Fluttershy said, unable to resist the pleas of a wounded creature. The changeling rushed inside like a bullet, eager to get out of the rain. Fluttershy closed the door and turned to have the changeling grab her in a bear hug.

"Thank you..." he said, relief clearly shown on his face and in his tone.

[i]Thud thud thud thud thud thud![/i]

"Ma'am, open your door, this is the royal guard. If you do not open up we can and will use force to get in." It was the voice from before. The look of relief was gone faster then it came.

"Oh no, where can I hide?" he asked frantic once again.

"Why shouldn't I report you? I mean, why would they chase you?" Fluttershy asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Because they were the ones who did this to me." He said, showing off his arm and chest. He winced when the yellow pegasus pushed her hoof against it.

"Please, I don't want to get hurt again." the changeling begged.

She sighed in defeat, and pointed toward a door "OK, go to that closet."

"Ma'am you have until I reach five," the changeling zoomed into the closet, eager to get away, "5...4...3...2..."

Fluttershy yanked opened the door once again. Two guards stood on her doorstep-a white one and a grey one. They both looked annoyed, probably from having to run around in the downpour so much. The grey one seemed a bit...angry. As if he was one second away from completely loosing it.

"Have you seen a changeling around?" The grey one asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"No, I don't think so..." Fluttershy said quietly, almost a mumble, her mind going over what was going on.

"Are you positive?" The white one asked, disappointment written clear on his face. What if the changeling had lied and inflicted those wounds on himself? If she told him then she wouldn't have to worry, worry about getting caught. But then she noticed a tiny bit of blood on the grey one's armor. That, and the fire in his eyes made Fluttershy realize that they weren't just doing their job. They were hurting others.

"Yes, im possitive," she said, louder this time, "but maybe it ran into the forest?" She suggested.

"Hm, we hadn't thought about that. Thank you ma'am."

As they left, Fluttershy overheard the start of a conversation.

"If I find him, i'm going to rip out his guts. I swear i'll kill that bastard."

After that, the voices got swept away with the rain.

"So, what's your name?" Fluttershy asked as her and the changeling took seats across from each other near the dining room table. The pegasus had helped fix her new guest with bandages and painkillers after giving him some food and water.

"Differ." he said.

"So, um, Differ, why are you here? Arent you supposed to be with the queen or something?" the pegasus asked, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Well," he began, "After the failed attack on canterlot, everyone was getting angry at queen Chrysalis. They all blamed the failure on her. So there was rioting, fighting, rebellion, chaos. I ran away to find somewhere better. I found myself running through forests and towns, trying not to get caught. Then, when those guards came..." Differ geustered to the fresh bandages, "they beat the hay out of me. I didnt think I would survive, but when one of them got distracted by another changeling, I ran. I kept running untill I found you. I'm really sorry for putting you in so much danger, it's just-"

Fluttershy put her hoof against his lips, "It's fine. I take care of animals for a living, I have all the supplies and it wouldn't bother. Just don't bother anypony, or have anypony notice your here. When you're better you can go.


	2. The Spark

When Fluttershy opened her tired eyes, the first thing she noticed was the silence. It wasn't raining. Looking through the window, she saw the normally cloud covered moon lightly illuminating the otherwise pitch black town. However, that wasn't the only source of light in her home, as the pegasus could see a faint yellow glow from a crack in her door. For a moment she wondered, _Where's that light coming from?_ Then, as if a switch had been flipped in her head, everything came reeling back to her. How she had found Differ and how she had offered to let him stay. How after their small discussion Fluttershy had prepared him the guest room in which the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' had used last-where the light seemed to be coming from.

When her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, Fluttershy could see that the clock read pegasus figured it was time to see what was going on. She pulled the soft blanket to the side before swinging her hooves over and getting up. Carefully, she walked through her room, attempting to not trip over anything in the blackness of the night. Eventually she managed to get out into the hallway, where she saw the light pouring out of the small space between the door and the wall. Fluttershy slowly opened it, doing so quietly since if Differ was asleep she would wake him. Inside she saw that the bed sheets were on the ground in a messy pile, with the changeling lying on the mattress bare. His eyes were open and starring at the ceiling, yet they looked glassy. As if his body was there but his mind, his thoughts, were somewhere far, far away...

"D-Differ?" The yellow pegasus asked quietly. He shot up, for he had been unaware of the other presence. When his eyes met hers, his expression softened, along with his posture.

"Oh, hi..." he said, giving a light, tired smile.

"Hi," Fluttershy smiled warmly back. "What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?" The smile was replaced with a look of worry.

Differ sighed, "I couldn't sleep because.. because..."

"Because what?"

"Because I had a nightmare." Differ looked away sheepishly, a red blush clearly visible on his black cheeks.

The pegasus giggled a bit, "There's nothing with that, it's completely normal!"

"Not for changelings..." A dark look passed over his face.

"How about... we get these sheets back on?" She offered, pulling the pile of soft material from the ground. She let it un-roll in the air, setting over Differ.

"Thanks..." the changeling said, a smile back on his face.

"You know, when I was a filly and I had nightmares, my mother would sing me a lullaby." Fluttershy said.

"Really? What was it?" Differ asked.

She smiled lightly, eager to help her new friend sleep. "It goes...

_Hush now, quiet now_

_It's time to lay your sleepy head_

_Hush now, quiet now_

_It's time to go to bed..._

By the time the small song ended, Differ's eyes were drooping, almost falling into the deep chasm of sleep.

"You have a beautiful voice..." he almost whispered. Now Fluttershy was the one to blush and look away. For a moment she just sat there, watching her guest fall asleep, his chest moving up and down rhythmically. Finally, as she got up to go to her own room, she lightly pushed her lips against his forehead.

"Sweet dreams..." the pegasus cooed, turning off the light.

There was the spark that would eventually turn into a raging fire...

The sun rose over Ponyville the next morning, destroying what was left of the dreary weather. Cold dew still covered the lush grasses surrounding the town, making them shine in the light. Now it was 'officially summer', as the fillies had said hapily. Ponies and unicorns played in the fields and dirt, while pegasi flew joyfully in the sky. The air was fresh and clean in Fluttershy's lungs as she trotted through the town. After waking up and realizing they didn't have enough food, she decided that was a good enough excuse as any to go outside. The pegasus left Differ a note, grabbed a few bits, and left. Now she trotted through the market, checking out the food. So far she had six cherries, eight apples, a dozen eggs, a bag full of bagels, two donuts, and three oranges. When she checked her list the only things left were lettuce, carrots, and strawberries.

"Hey!" Fluttershy jumped at the voice coming from behind her. A certain blue pegasus landed right in front of her.

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash." she said, her heart still pounding.

"Hey Fluttershy! Isn't today great? Now that we got rid of all that water, the summer is going to be like this all the time!" Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

"Yeah, I guess it is..." Fluttershy answered quietly.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, when her eye caught the big bags, "Hey, why do you have so much food?"

Fluttershy normally had half of what she was buying, maybe even less. But normally she didn't have a changeling in her home. As she opened her mouth, attempting to think of a convincing lie, Rainbow Dash came up with one already.

"The animals must be really hungry, huh?" the blue pegasus asked.

"Yeah, they are." Fluttershy said. She felt a bit guilty for lying to her childhood friend, but this was too big a secret.

"So hows it goin?" Rainbow Dash had already changed the subject.

_I'm just hiding a fugitive, helping him illegally, you know, the usual._ "Oh, well the animals are all kind of restless from being held inside so long because of the storm. I'm planning on letting them run about today."

"Cool, cool..." Her friend said, her mind obviously elsewhere.

"Well, i'm off to practice. See you later?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, see ya." Fluttershy said, and with that her friend soared off into the sky. _That was close..._


	3. Bandages

Fluttershy set the groceries down quietly. If Differ was still asleep she wouldn't wake him up. After finishing packing all her supplies away, the yellow pegasus decided to check on her guest. Silent as a mouse, she crept up the stairs towards the room. Soon she reached the spot in which she had stood just the night before. She silently opened the door and stepped into the room. Everything was how it was supposed to be. The bookcase, the books, the poster, and even the bed sheets were folded. The only thing missing was the changeling.

"Differ?" Fluttershy called through the house. No response. Had he left?

"Differ?" Fluttershy called again. By now she raced around the home, checking every single room. Nothing.

"Differ!" the pegasus yelled.

"Fluttershy?" the voice was outside of the house, in the backyard. She raced outside, but couldn't see him.

"Differ, where are you?" she asked to no one in particular.

"I'm right here." the changeling's voice came from a patch of grass. When Fluttershy looked closer, she saw him. Camouflage. Now he was changeling from looking green and brown to the familiar black color.

"Sorry," he apologized, "It's just... it's just... today is so perfect! The sun is shinning, it's nice and warm, everyone is happy. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's alright," Fluttershy said, accepting the apology, "but I was so worried. I thought you had been taken away, or you left! And you're in no condition for that." She eyed his bandages. He pressed his hoof up against them and winced.

"Well, i'm here in the flesh, see?" he held out his hoof to Fluttershy. She softly held it for a moment.

"I guess... but how did you do that thing with the grass?" she asked.

Differ smiled slightly, "We don't only use our powers for stealing love. It's good camouflage, too."

"Well..." Fluttershy said for a moment, "well, I got breakfast. Lets go eat!"

"Sure," Differ said, "I'm starving."

"Bon appetite." Fluttershy said jokingly, handing Differ a plate. On it was an omelette, bread, a tomato, and a few strawberries.

Differ slowly took his first bite, before wolfing down more.

"This is good!" he said through a mouth full of food.

"Differ, slow down, you going to eat it all before I even sit down!" she said.

Differ grinned sheepishly, "Sorry." the changeling sat and waited for the pegasus to sit down and begin eating.

"So," Fluttershy said before taking another bite, "I was wondering... changelings rely on love for food, right?"

"Yeah..." Differ said.

"So how do you survive here?" she asked.

"Well," Differ atemped to explain, "imagine if a pony is in love. Then there is an... auroa-a field around them that makes you feel their love. Most changelings change into ponies because they want the love. I, however, can feed off your love indirectly."

"M-My love?" Fluttershy said. Her mind went over anyone she liked, but the hit came down to zero. Except...

"Yeah. Your love for your animals. It's like... it's like its floating around in the air and I absorb it." Differ finished. Literally as well, his plate was clean. Fluttershy was as well.

"Let me get that for you." She said, grabbing the dishes and heading towards the sink, her mind still reeling. She didn't like anypony... any pony. Not any changeling.

After their late breakfast, Fluttershy and Differ were now sitting together on the couch. The pegasus was unwrapping his bandages slowly.

"Ah..." Differ gasped.

"Sorry, sorry. I've never done anything like this with anything larger then a cat..." Fluttershy apologized.

"I-It's fine." Differ said. Now the pegasus was done unwrapping his chest. It was slightly purple from bruising, and slightly deformed from broken ribs. Now she unwrapped his arm. The bandage slowly peeled off, revealing a red mess.

"We're going to need to clean that more." Fluttershy said, "Follow me."

They both walked into a small bathroom. Fluttershy reached into a cupboard and pulled out a large bottle which read Rubbing Alcohol.

"This might sting... a lot..." Fluttershy told him, "Now hold out your arm."

Differ did as he was told. Fluttershy washed it down, until most of the smeared blood was gone and all that remained was a large cut. Then, Fluttershy poured some of the alcohol onto a white strip of cloth.

"Ready?" She asked. He nodded. Slowly, she placed the cloth over his cut.

"Agh!" Differ cried out, his face contorted in pain. She continued to dab the cloth around his arm for a few more secconds. For Differ it felt like hours.

"...aaand... done." the pegasus said, taking away the cloth.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Differ said, "it was WORSE!"

Fluttershy laughed, "Well, while you have your bandages off, you might as well take a shower."

"Sure, why not?" Differ said. Fluttershy gestured to the shower curtain.

The sound of running water echoed through the house. Fluttershy sat outside the bathroom, waiting for her patient to finish. As she sat there, here mind wandered off into a day dream.

They were together, Fluttershy and Differ. They were lying on the couch, their lips meeting in a long, passionate kiss. She held him close to her, keeping their bodies close as the it continued.

_What the..._Feelings long submerged had been coming up. No, no she couldn't be falling for him! He was a changeling, she was a pegasus! Two completely different beings! It was stupid, it was not allowed!

It was quiet.

Differ was done.

Fluttershy was still deep in her thoughts when Differ walked in.

"Fluttershy." he said, snapping her out of the trance. His body was covered in water which glimmered off his black skin. He looked very... handsome to say the least. Fluttershy imagined him leaping towards her, kissing her, embracing her.

Instead he said, "Well, i'm done. What now?"

"The-the bandages." she said, her voice shaking.

"You ok?" Differ asked, drying off with his towel before sitting next to her.

"Yeah, i'm fine."_ I'm just falling head over hoofs in love with you._


	4. Lemonade

"So, what can I do to help around the house?" Differ asked. New, clean, white bandages wrapped around his chest and arm. The two sat together in chairs next to the dinning table, discussing what the plan was.  
"What do you mean...?" Fluttershy asked.  
"You took me in, you're kind to me, and you take care of me like i'm someone important," The changeling explained, "I don't even have any bits to show for it, so let me do something for you. Help you."  
His face was close, all she had to do was lean in to kiss him-a tantalizing idea.  
"I-I don't know..." Fluttershy muttered, "I mean, if I let you do something, it might be dangerous. Somepony might be able to see you. Report you. I don't want you to get hurt..."  
"Hm..." Differ held his head in his hoof, thinking, "How about... if anything goes wrong, I change into you?"  
"I-I guess that would work..." The pegasus muttered once again, "And I guess... I guess the bushes outside need to be trimmed..."  
"I'll do it!" Differ blurted out, his voice filled with enthusiasm.  
"Um..." Fluttershy considered. The job _was_ tough and needed someone strong, and Differ did have some muscles...  
"Oh, alright," she said, "The sheers are in the shed in the back."

_Snip Snip Snip_  
Differ worked on the bush, squeezing the metal sheers together, breaking off the branches. The sun was midway through the sky now, beaming heat down upon the town. The changeling wiped away glistening sweat from his forehead. Fluttershy watched him work from inside the house. He really was strong, lifting and snapping the heavy sheers with ease. Just one more thing to make Fluttershy like him more. Now she had no idea what to do. She didn't want to leave him, or interrupt his work. He did look a bit thirsty though, and there were some fresh cut lemons on the counter...

"Hey!" Fluttershy called across the yard. Differ turned to see the yellow pegasus holding two glasses of lemonade. He licked his lips, imagining the taste of the nice, cold drink going down his throat.  
"Hey!" Differ called back. Fluttershy approached him slowly.  
"What's that?" The changeling asked.  
"Oh, just some lemonade I made while you were working." She said.  
"Thanks!" He said, smiling.  
"No problem. It looked pretty hard to work with that old thing. It must take someone real strong to use it..." she said.  
Differ blushed, "Oh-it's nothing..."  
"Well, drink up." She said. Differ put the glass against his lips and let the delicious beverage slide down his throat.  
Fluttershy also drank some, before setting the glass on the ground.  
"No problem," she smiled back, before giggling slightly.  
"What?" Differ asked.  
"You're all sweaty!" she said, grinning.  
"Well we all get a bit dirty sometimes..." Differ said, before dumping the rest of the drink on Fluttershy, "Like now!"  
"Oh my gosh!" The pegasus burst out laughing. She grabbed her own cup and dumped the drink on Differ. Now they were both wet, covered with sticky lemonade. Together, they laughed. Fluttershy hadn't felt so happy in ages-she was actually having fun. Differ was bringing her out of her shell.

The two of them raced around the back yard, laughing happily. Each of them held something that contained water. Differ held a bucket while the pegasus held a few water bottles. Every once in a while they would catch up to each other and spray some of their supply on each other, before racing away. They felt like fillies again. Fluttershy leapt in the air, her wings spread out. Now she hovered above the changeling, who was still laughing.  
"Hey! Not fair!" He cried out.  
"There are no rules!" She said, before emptying one of the water bottles on Differ's head.  
"Oh no you didn't!" Hey yelled. The changeling leapt up into the air, grabbing the pegasus' hoof and pulling her down.  
"No!" She cried out through laughs. They fell in a heap on the ground, one big mess. In all the commotion, they dropped their 'weapons' and were now just rolling around in the dirt, laughing. Before she knew it, they were laying against each other, with her on top.  
"That was fun!" Fluttershy laughed lightly.  
"Yeah, it was..." Differ said. Their faces were right in front of each other. For a moment they just stared into each other's eyes, then their lips were locked in a kiss. It was as if the moment froze, and everything else was gone and it was only them, together.  
"MMmm..." Fluttershy let herself go. She stopped listening to her brain and instead followed her heart. Then, the moment was shattered when a large gasp sounded from above them.


End file.
